Andy 's Blog

Staging Instructors wanted - We'll train you - any designation welcome

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:20:09 -0600

The Power of Staging is an 8 hour class designed specifically for Real Estate Agents to guide their sellers through the process of staging a home. Our premise is that every home, no matter what the price point, should be staged to some degree. Our formula is logical and effective, and has been featured both as an online and a live course for the pat 4 years with great success.

Andy Capelluto, author of "The Power of Staging" course for Real Estate Agents will launch the International School of Staging in January 2010. She will be appointing and training instructors to teach the program live anywhere that real estate is sold. Andy is looking for teachers, real estate instructors, interior designers and decorators who would like to go through the training, which the school will provide. Applicants should submit their resume for the initial screening to Info@SchoolOfStaging.com

Real Estate's 100 most influential women

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:34:57 -0500

Renowned trend tracker, speaker, author and visionary Stefan Swanepoel has focused on the role of women in Real Estate and together with AR members has nominated an amazing list of 100 influential women in Real Estate. Take a look at this impressive list, cast your vote, and while you're about it, vote for me!!!

NW Staging expo a raving success for me especially

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:00:43 -0500

The thought of meeting ladies whom I've met on active rain compelled me to go to Staging Expo in Portland on Saturday. I was about to make reservations on Amtrack but then my husband (ANGEL that he is) decided to drive me down to Wilsonville Oregon from Seattle for the day. Finally I could put face to name of dynamic members of the industry. I was surprised by the enormous numbers of attendees and the high quality of the exhibits with exciting products. The guest speakers were knowledgeable, the food was great and most important of all, all designations mingled happily.

But the best was yet to come. Prizes were being drawn and my husband is now having his Sarurday afternoon nap on one of the most comfy sofas at Mastercraft Furniture Company. The next thing, out comes the owner carrying this most amazing leather chair with the announcement that I'm the winner.!!!

OMG what a surprise. What an amazing prize!! The most comfortable and stylish chair with leather is as soft as butter. Thankfully I didn't come by train, where would I have put my new chair. What is more, it's the exact same color as my headboard and so it now has pride of place in our bedroom.

A big thanks to all.

I've spent many of my years in the industry as a furniture and accessory buyer and designer. I wanted to make special mention of fabulous quality being manufactured at Mastercraft Furmiture Company. Far too much of the furniture in this industry is made in Asia. We all need to promote and support American manufacture and buy locally made product.

Creative ideas......

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:31:29 -0500

I constantly marvel at the fact that we have all come from very different professions and that we now we find ourselves in this fledgling industry called home staging. With so much to learn as the industry develops, I feel thankful to have an outlet like Active Rain where we can pool ideas and resources. A ‘free' magazine put out by Lowes has been landing on my desk every month. I have no idea how, but I finally took the trouble to actually look at it instead of throwing it away. It's a most informative little publication, definitely worth subscribing to.

Home Staging Hooker

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:03:21 -0500

Home staging hell happened in Atlanta when a ‘stager' was found to be conducting a business within a business right from the home she had ‘staged.' This story appealed to my rather ‘offbeat' sense of humor. I'm constantly fascinated by the creative ways in which people chose to make a living. This story takes the cake! I thought I'd share it with my fellow stagers........

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7183898&version=1&locale=EN-US

4 AR Stagers on Realblogging

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:32:25 -0500

Good news spread fast as 4 winners of the ‘I staged it' photo contest made the top story on Realblogging. Check out the announcement on another, well respected blogsite. You all deserve the recognition you receive. It is clear that your work ethic and the talent go hand in hand. You four ladies have been a pleasure to work with. More power to you all.........

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the "I Staged It Photo Contest"

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:57:36 -0500

Congratulations!!

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

A few weeks ago we announced a photo contest for ActiveRain members to submit "before" and "after" photos of properties they have staged. We received many wonderful submissions in each of 4 categories: "Vacant new homes," "Vacant resale homes," "Repositioned/removed furniture," and "Furniture added." One of the category winners receives a grand prize in lieu of the category prize.

SO, WHO WON?

And the winners are...

Grand Prize and Category 1: "
Connie Tebyani, Platinum Home Staging, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, CA. (View it!)
Connie will receive the grand prize of a $300 Visa gift card + one free registration to each of RealtyU's fully transferrable online designation courses: Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP), Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS). ($900 total value.)

As with all winning contestants, she can keep the cash and choose to either take or gift the online courses to an agent-client.
Category 2: "Vacant resale homes."
Karen Otto, Home Star Staging, Collin County, TX. (View it!)
Karen will receive a category prize of a $200 Visa gift card + one free registration to RealtyU's fully transferrable online designation course: Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP). ($500 total value.)
Category 3: "Repositioned/removed furniture."
Ardell DellaLoggia, Sound Realty, Kirkland, WA. (View it! Here and here.)
Ardell will also receive the category prize, as announced above.
Category 4: "Funiture added."
Michelle Molinari, Feature This..., Lafayette, LA. (View it!)
Michelle will also receive the category prize, as announced above.

Each of the contestants listed above will be contacted separately for details about receiving their prize winnings.

Again, congratulations!

Our burgeoning industy - history in the making

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:05:31 -0500

Not day goes by without a Google alerting me of new ‘home staging' articles. This industry has exploded into one of today's fastest growing business. I clearly remember researching the ‘Home Staging' for my first class in 2004. There were 16,768 Google entries. (I wrote it down) I began each class defining ‘staging' Today there are 2,500,000 entries. That's enormous.

I marvel at people's creativity, both as stagers and as innovators within the industry. Today we see numerous business, courses, books and even cardboard furniture. Why only this morning I read of a company that not only stages homes but provides a tenant. Imagine that, a ‘fluffer' who will keep the home spotless and ensure that it looks perfect each day. That's clever.

I applaud the generosity and talent of the people who entered the ‘I staged it -before and after' photograph competition. The standard of the work submitted was amazingly high. Their photographs will be contributing to the education of future stagers, sellers and real estate agents. How exciting for all of us to be a part of history. That's amazing!

The "I Staged It!" Before/After Photo Contest

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:16:38 -0500

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Submit your "before and after" photos for a chance to win one of four prizes worth $500 each or a grand prize worth $900.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

Post your "before / after photos" on your ActiveRain blog in any or all of the following four categories (post as many as you want!):

Vacant new homes.
Vacant resale homes.
Repositioned/removed furniture. That is, you staged a room by working with what you were given. You did this by repositioning or removing existing furniture.
Furniture Added. That is, you staged a home by adding furniture to complete a look. The furniture was added from furniture rental stores, your inventory or from purchased stock.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY.

ActiveRain Members:

Step 1. Create an ActiveRain blog post with your photos embedded. (See how to embed photos here.)

Step 2. Tag the blog post with the words: "I Staged It Photo Contest". (See how to tag a blog post here.)
(Hint: Copy the words exactly as shown above and then paste that into the "tag" field.)

Step 3. In your blog post, state for which of the 4 categories you are submitting each before/after set.
    Category 1: Vacant new homes.
    Category 2: Vacant resale homes.
    Category 3: Repositioned/removed furniture.
    Category 4: Furniture added.

Step 4. Post your blog.

Non-ActiveRain Members:

Step 1. Create a free ActiveRain profile.

Step 2. Follow the steps above for ActiveRain members.

WHAT'S THE PRIZE?

One winner will be selected for each category. The winner in each category will receive a $200 Visa gift card plus one free registration to RealtyU’s fully transferrable online Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP) course. ($500 total value.) Keep the cash and choose to take the course for yourself or gift it to an agent-client.

Grand prize. In lieu of a category prize, one overall winner will be selected to receive the following ($900 total value):

a $300 Visa gift card;
one free registration to RealtyU’s fully transferrable online Certified Short-Sale Professional (CSP) designation course;
one free registration to RealtyU’s fully transferrable online Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS) designation course.

Again, you may choose to keep the cash and either take the courses yourself or gift them to agent-clients.

JUDGING CRITERIA.

Creative use of:

staging principles,
furniture placement,
space,
colors,
vignettes.

DETAILS

Contest entries begin immediately and must be submitted before midnight on Saturday, July 26, 2008 (Pacific).
Winners will be announced on or before Friday, August 1, 2008 via ActiveRain’s Stage It Forward group and on the RealBlogging real estate blog. Winners will also be notified via e-mail.
Winners qualify for one prize only and will receive the higher valued prize if qualified for a category prize and the grand prize.
Submitted photos should have dimensions of at least 640 x 480 and must include non-watermarked “Before” and “After” photos.
Contestants agree photos may be used by Andy Capelluto - The Power of Staging, RealtyU and its affiliated companies for education and marketing purposes. (Note: Any photos used will give attribution to the contestant. So, make sure you include your contact information.)
Contestants agree they have authorization to submit the photos, per ActiveRain terms of service.
Unlimited entries per person. Stack your chances of winning – submit as many before/after entry sets as you want!

Good luck!

NO HOUSE LEFT BEHIND!!!

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:45:05 -0500

NO HOUSE LEFT BEHIND ought to become the mantra of every real estate agent. As we deal with the consequences of a sluggish market, it becomes essential that a certain degree of renovation should take place prior to the listing of every home. That is if you're hoping to attract the selective buyers who have an over abundance of choices.

I urge every real estate professional out there to disregard the premise that only a select few have the skills to stage a home. Home Staging is not brain surgery. It is a simple formula that anyone can follow. It is an essential process that should be learnt and offered by every agent. Let's be totally realistic; today money is tight and houses are slow to sell. We can all agree that it is the house that is clean, well maintained and beautifully presented that is going outshine the competition.

Today's ‘hot shot' agents are offering staging as a service and they come equipped with the knowledge and ability to stage, a small inventory of accessories and the resources to locate more inventory should the need arise. For this reason I want to encourage every agent out there to join the hundreds of agents who have already empowered themselves by taking The Power of Staging course that is now available online. I may be a little biased because I was part of the team that help put this online course together but the guys at Realty U did the most amazing job producing this very worthwhile product. The online course is visually appealing, interesting, entertaining and above all educational. Furthermore it is affordable to everyone.

Who better to lead the seller through the process, than the real estate agent. Agents are the true professionals and staging just another important tool in the ever expanding arsenal of skills to ensure that NO HOUSE IS LEFT BEHIND.............

Do yourself a favor and visit http://www.stagingspecialist.com/

NO HOUSE LEFT BEHIND!!

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:39:55 -0500

Do yourself a favor and visit http://www.stagingspecialist.com/

NO HOUSE LEFT BEHIND

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:25:58 -0500

Do yourself a favor and visit http://www.stagingspecialist.com/

NO HOUSE LEFT BEHIND

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:17:08 -0500

Do yourself a favor and visit http://www.stagingspecialist.com/

BREAKING NEWS - Seattle SIF Round Table

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:05:08 -0600

b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g- n-e-w-s

SEATTLE SIF ROUND TABLE

scheduled for December 9th 2007

has been postponed

until

THURSDAY JANUARY 31st, 2008

at 11:30am

we apologise for any inconvenience this change may have caused

Seattle Stagers save the date - SIF Round Table

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:20:00 -0600

SIF ROUND TABLE - SEATTLE & WASHINGTON STATE

Sponsored by Cort Furniture Rentals

Date :

Sunday December 9^th 2007

Doors Opens at 11am

Round Table discussion begins at 11:15am to 1:15am

A light brunch will be served.

Venue:

The Community Center at Mercer View

Room 102

8236 SE - 24^th St

Mercer Island

For best directions go to http://www.miparks.net/

and search driving directions

(rather than using mapquest)

RSVP to andy@thepowerofstaging.com

We look foward to meeting you all, spread the word....

Price - Picture - Presentation.

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:05:02 -0600

It's a nail biting time for most agents right now as they weather the storm of a downtrend in the Real Estate market. For urgent sellers the formula is simple; Price, Picture and of course Presentation.

If the home isn't realistically priced for today's market, you can be sure that you won't have too many visitors. After all it is the price that first attracts potential buyers, more so when there are bargains to be had.

After the price, it is the photograph of the house that further draws buyers and for this reason it is advisable to enlist the help of a professional photographer who can portray the listing in its best light.

Finally, each and every home, no matter what the price point must be presented looking the very best it possible can. Staging the home for resale is NOT about bringing in a truck load of furniture. Decorating is the final step of a long list of tasks that can easily be undertaken by the seller, especially under the guidance of a savvy agent.

To some degree, every home needs to be staged. For this reason, every Real Estate agent should be equipped in the process of staging. Staging is not rocket science. It is an essential and simple process that can easily be learnt.

If you feel want to learn more on The Power of Staging check out http://www.stagingspecialist.com/, they offer a variety of great home staging ideas, a free download on the 7 deadly sins of staging and even an online staging course, geared specifically towards Real Estate Professionals that covers the full spectrum of essential interior decorating and staging topics.

Staging across the World

Andy Capelluto (School of Staging) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:47:42 -0500

My findings were fascinating as I traversed hemispheres last month - My mission to research staging in England and South Africa. Both have burgeoning Real Estate Markets, and both can learn from Real Estate trends in the USA

I arrived in London armed with questions about real estate and property sales for developers and agents. I marveled at the magnificent English gardens and the most awesome hanging baskets. I drooled over opulent interiors.

In London demand for homes far exceeds supply. Prices are shockingly high. Storage is extremely expensive. Here too staging is becoming the norm, just as it is in the USA. There are numerous courses available that teach home staging and after a quick search I even found a few home stagers all of whom were doing fabulous work.

Then southbound to Cape Town (South Africa) with its majestic views of the Atlantic seaboard. Prices here are outrageously inflated. The market is sizzling hot, mostly due to Europeans snapping up prized properties with 180 degree views of the Atlantic Ocean - I could understand exactly why. News of my arrival had spread and before I knew it I was hauled into the neighbor's house and unexpectedly found myself shoving furniture around for an open house.

Staging is virtually unheard of in that part of the world, but of course the concept made total sense and so soon we were all hard at work, like fairies with magic wands. A few successful meetings later and I had numerous South African real estate companies begging to know more. Coincidentally this all coincides with the launch of our amazing new online course. Check out http://www.ahsdesignation.com/